The purpose of this paper is to consider a different point of view as to why historically underrepresented minority students ultimately succeed in school, but do so at a cost (Goward, 2020). The authors argue that considering John Henryism, i.e., high-effort coping as a response to environmental stressors, as a source of motivation for…

As the need to provide advocacy and support for marginalized college student populations increases and campus challenges related to college men persist, educators and scholars are increasingly finding themselves in need of more nuanced frameworks for engaging and understanding college men. One such model, the "Intersectional Model of College…

Far too often researchers see social identities as discrete categories as opposed to understanding how they intersect to form students' unique collegiate experiences. With this in mind, the authors sought to understand how individuals with multiple minoritized identities explore who they are during their time in college. In particular, using data…

Native Americans are a critically underserved and under researched population in the United States (US) higher education system. Not only do American Indians (AIs) and Alaska Natives (ANs) enroll in vastly lower percentages than their nonnative peers, but they are also far less likely to persist to graduation and attend graduate school than other…

The author recounts how they could not "be myself" or be authentic in the same way that White peers could without being stereotyped as anything other than a typical college student. The article endeavors to interrogate the loose, subjective definition of authenticity in higher education as a potentially precarious practice for BIPOC who…

Based on Nancy Schlossberg and her colleagues' extensive interviews with 100 retired adults, Susan Komives describes six predominate pathways retirees took to make meaning of this new transition in their lives. These pathways identified people as continuers, adventurers, easy gliders, involved spectators, searchers, and retreaters. Using the…

Terah J. Stewart challenges us to think about our attitudes toward fatness and fat bodies and consider how our campuses marginalize people based on body size. He shares his students' stories of dreading to enter a classroom for fear of not finding a seat they can fit in or being publicly admonished for being unhealthy and lazy. Clearly, negative…

What is known about college students' search for purpose more than ever before due to the scholarly attention devoted to purpose development over the past two decades. This growing research on purpose increasingly makes it clear, as Tim Clydesdale ( 2015 ) writes, that when colleges "launch sustained conversations with students about…

Co-rumination, a social process between two friends, is defined as the frequent and excessive discussion of personal problems. Like body image and alcohol use, it is one of those complicated issues embedded in larger cultural realities, which makes it universally recognizable. On campus, co-rumination has deleterious side effects: it challenges…

An overwhelming majority of college students feel that diversity is important. Students want to explore diversity and need to be guided in ways that help them negotiate what often feels like a social and emotional minefield. While many staff and faculty share a belief that diversity education does not require specific training beyond either a…

Traditional-age college students face a host of challenges during the transition from home to campus. Perhaps one of the most substantial challenges--one that relates directly to adjustment and quality of life--involves the formation of new relationships, and the awareness, development, and establishment of boundaries between their own emerging…

The major premise of this article is inspired by Viktor Frankl's words: "The truth is that as the struggle for survival has subsided, the question has emerged--survival for what? Ever more people today have the "means" to live, but no "meaning" to live for." Thousands of students who have come through the author's college courses during the last…

The author discusses Daniel Goleman's concept of emotional intelligence as encompassing the characteristics of self-awareness, mood management, self-motivation, empathy, and relationship management. and his own consideration of whether emotional literacy can be taught.

In this article, the author recalls and shares the first half of her college journey. Her memories do not play back to her in bursts of sounds or colors; friends or lovers; feelings, touches, tastes, or ideas. They play, rather, as silent images of herself that flicker disjointedly across her mind, the lens of her memory having recorded her…

This article examines the historical and contemporary context of black culture centers (BCCs) and offers findings from a recent study (conducted by this author) on the role of the centers in the lives of black students attending predominantly white institutions (PWIs). The author's research revealed that these centers make a powerful difference in…